Potato Kale Enchiladas With Roasted Chili Sauce

I think these are the best enchiladas ever. Really. I like them even more than the sweet potato enchiladas. I got this recipe from "Veganomicon" , my favorite cookbook. You can also check out Terry Hope Romero and Isa Chandra Moskowitz on their website, theppk.com. Lots of amazing recipes. This is one of those recipes that I made much quicker the second time around. So, don't be discouraged if it takes a little while. It's totally worth it and makes lots of left overs. Also, this is good for using kale that may be a little on the wilty side. Enjoy!

For the Enchilada Sauce:

2 tbl olive oil or grape seed oil

4 large, green chilies, I used Anaheim, roasted, seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped(see note at the bottom)

1 onion, diced

2-3 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp oregano (the original recipe calls for marjoram or mexican oregano, but I had neither)

1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 tsp sugar

1- 1 1/2 tsp salt

For the Potato and Kale Filling:

1- 1 1/2 pound potatoes, diced (yellow or Yukon are preferred, I used plain ol' russet)

1 bunch kale, washed, trimmed and chopped finely (I chop the stems off where the leaves start)

3 tbl olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 veggie stock or water

3 tbl lime juice

1/4 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) , chopped (plus more for garnish)

salt, to taste

12-14 large corn tortillas

cilantro, as garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven 375. Or, be planning on pre-heating it, when the time comes. Have shallow casserole dish ready, 11 x 13 ish.

Prepare the enchilada sauce first. I started the water for the potatoes at this point too. In a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan, or cast iron frying pan, heat the oil and add the onions. Sautee for 4-7 minutes. Add remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer and then remove from heat. When cooled enough to handle, blend in a blender, food processor or use and immersion blender (I can't wait to get one of those!)

Prepare the filling: Boil potatoes for 20 minutes or until tender, drain and set aside. Cook the olive oil and minced garlic over medium-low heat in a large frying pan. Be careful not to burn the garlic. When garlic is just starting to brown add the kale and sprinkle with salt. Stir so that the kale is coated with the oil. Raise the heat to medium, and partially cover to steam the kale for 4-6 minutes.

Remove lid and mix in potatoes, lime juice, veg broth, salt, cumin and pepitas. Mash some of the potatoes with the back of your spoon. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the stock is absorbed. Add more lime juice and salt to taste. It's good when it's tangy, so don't skimp on the lime.

Create your enchilada assembly line. I put the sauce in a shallow bowl. Ladle a little sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish. Heat the corn tortillas over an open flame on your stove, turning often, just until warm. Lay the tortilla in the sauce and flip over, so both sides are covered. Place the tortilla on a plate or in your casserole dish, add the filling and roll. Arrange with the seams down. Cover the enchiladas with a little less than half of the sauce.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, covered. If you don't have a lid, use a baking sheet. Remove the lid and bake for 5-15 more minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Top with warmed sauce, pepitas, and chopped cilantro.

You can make this spicier by adding some cayenne pepper to the sauce.

Roasting Chilies:

This is my favorite part of the whole recipe! Do this first.

Lay the chili's over an open gas flame, turning with tongs or your fingers, as necessary. When the entire chili is black, put in a brown paper bag or a casserole dish with a lid. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then peel using your fingers, don't rinse with water, that will take away some flavor. Slice open and de-seed as best as possible. A few seeds and charred black skin pieces are fine.

Meaty Mushroom Stroganoff

My dad used to make the best beef stroganoff.... now, I eat the same yummy flavors minus the rotting, dead flesh. Best of both worlds, really. And, wow, I am so excited I can hardly type.... Gardein is now being carried at Safeway. I'm taking back many of my negative comments about Safeway, due to this fact alone. I'm not usually a huge fan of fake meat products, largely due to the length of the words in the ingredients. However, I view fake meat some what like I view getting pee on my ski boots while peeing on my skis in the trees. It's fine once in awhile. With that said.... Gardein is awesome. Really. Tastes good. Has normal words in the ingredients. And is so friggin' EASY. I have always hated cutting chicken, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone. So, I totally heart skipping it: and all the salmonella and e. coli and separate cutting boards and trash cans full of drippy chicken juice. And the fact that it has eyes. Okay, just try Gardein. And this recipe with it.

Sauce:

1 tbl olive oil

4 cloves garlic minced

2 tbl brown rice flour

2 cups veggie broth or bullion

2 tsp soy sauce

scant 1/4 cup rice milk

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

salt and pepper

1 package Gardein "Seasoned Bites"

Mushrooms:

2 tsp safflower oil or earth balance

4 cups sliced mushrooms

1 onion, thinly sliced

Noodles:

12-14 oz whole wheat rotini (use whatever you want)

Prepare the noodles. Keep warm with a little olive oil until everything else is ready.

Sauce- Heat the olive oil over medium, add the garlic and swirl until fragrant. Add the brown rice flour, whisk in and quickly add the broth and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and boil for a few minutes. Add the rice milk if it's too thick. Add more brown rice flour if too thin. Add the chicken bites and boil for 3-4 minutes. I used my stirring spoon to break the "bites" into small pieces. Cover and keep warm.

Mushrooms:

Heat oil over medium add mushrooms and onions. Saute'e until soft. About 8 minutes.

Do this all at once and you've got yourself a delicious quick meal. Enjoy!

Home Boy Fries

Making home fries feels like a part of me. I love potatoes for breakfast! When eating out, I often order home fries with sides of salsa and avocado. So delicious, and usually.... cheaper :). We used to host sunday morning football parties at our house and I think I made potatoes 100% of the time. People loved them. I learned something about being a "good cook" from these gatherings; it's not necessarily how good your food is, but more about how often it is readily available. So, if you're feeling insecure at all about your cooking skills, just "point 'em down". That's my logic, "when in doubt, point 'em down". Okay, well that was what my ski coach used to say when we were standing at the top of something very steep.... which is similar to how some of you may view cooking healthy. So, don't think about it, just do it. And have fun! Okay, here's my uber simple home fries recipe:

1 tbl safflower oil

1/4 -1/2 onion, diced

3 potatoes, diced (use as many as you can fit in your pan with out overlapping)

3-4 cloves garlic, diced

1/2 jalepeno, diced (optional)

2 veg sausage patties, chopped (optional)

other veggies you may have laying around (broccoli, grated carrots, tomatoes, zucchini)

salt, pepper and red pepper flakes

Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed skillet with a lid. Add the onions, saute'e till they begin to soften (5 minutes). Add the potatoes and stir so they are coated with oil. Cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stir every few minutes so the potatoes don't burn. Add the garlic, jalepeno, other veggies and sausage patties. Cook, stirring often for 5 minutes or until veggies are soft. Salt, pepper and red pepper flake to how you like. Top with green onion, salsa, avocado, hot sauce, whatever!